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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29295528">burn through my love (or lack thereof)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/intruxx/pseuds/intruxx'>intruxx</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>witch ranboo (+ tommy) [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Kinda, Phoenix TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Protective Sam | Awesamdude, Ranboo-centric (Video Blogging RPF), Temporary Character Death, TommyInnit-centric (Video Blogging RPF), Witch Ranboo (Video Blogging RPF)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 06:40:37</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,567</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29295528</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/intruxx/pseuds/intruxx</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>pyrrhic victory (n.): a victory that is not worth winning because so much is lost to achieve it</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Ranboo &amp; Sam | Awesamdude, Ranboo &amp; TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Sam | Awesamdude &amp; TommyInnit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>witch ranboo (+ tommy) [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2160306</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>144</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>TWB Valentine's Event [2021]</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>burn through my love (or lack thereof)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/C4pricornC4ts/gifts">C4pricornC4ts</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This doesn't follow canon at all... but do I care? No. This is part of an au that I started just for myself! It's witch Ranboo and familiar Tommy, but that doesn't really come up. If you'd like me to post more about witch Boo and Tommy, lmk!</p><p>No shipping. Ranboo and Tommy are platonic. Translations of non-english words are in the end notes :]</p><p>cw: mcd, swearing, graphic descriptions of death</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Tommy has always been protective over Ranboo; it's inherent, he murmured when Ranboo had asked, a quality that he's always had since the day he spawned. Which is how we find ourselves at the docks of Essempi, Tommy glaring at Dream and yelling about how Ranboo has been nothing but peaceful. He demands that Dream fight him instead, insists that he can gain their independence over the wheezy laughs that Dream lets out.</p><p> </p><p>All things considered, it goes well up until Tommy has his sword ready to slice the masked man's throat. The air is tense, though some of the L'Manbergians look victorious. Ranboo knows better than to celebrate too early because false gods such as Dream always have a way to play dirty. Tommy knows this, yet he still asks the man in front of him, "Any last words, big man?" </p><p> </p><p>Ranboo hears the sound of a bow being pulled back, then the humming of a projectile sailing through the air.</p><p> </p><p>"Good thing I cashed in that favour," Dream cackles just as an arrow pierces right through the boy's chest. Multiple gasps are heard from the sidelines, but Ranboo can't seem to make a sound. His mind fills with chants of <em> Tommy, Tommy, Tommy's shot, Tommy's been shot and there's nothing he can do unless he wants to get shot too, no, no, no </em>- </p><p> </p><p>A scream breaks him out of his thoughts, and he forces his eyes back into focus. He's met with the image of Dream being stabbed through the stomach with the enchanted diamond sword that Tommy brought with him to the fight. The younger boy's movements are sluggish, but clearly done with purpose, twisting the sword until Dream finally falls. The scent of burning skin wafts through the air and with one last choked breath, the masked man disappears; starting the process of respawning.</p><p> </p><p>"Tommy!" Ranboo wails, dropping down on his knees beside the familiar. Their bond flairs to life when Ranboo touches Tommy, and he has to muffle a whimper at the pain that, while somewhat muted, is still agonizing to experience. The arrow was doused in a potion of harming, if the rhythmic pulses of pain are anything to go by. </p><p> </p><p>"C'mon Toms, don't close your eyes, stay with me," A shaking hand comes to rest upon Tommy's face, thumb rubbing gentle circles below his right eye. Blood coats his fingers but he can't bring himself to care as he stares down at Tommy; his other half, his best friend, his everything. Tears well up in his eyes, but the enderman hybrid blinks them away. He can't cry, he <em> won't </em>cry. Tommy smiles slightly, but it doesn't have the normal TommyInnit charm that it usually does. </p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>"<em> Nolite timere </em> ," Tommy chokes out in between the sharp intakes of breath. Tears of magma fall freely unlike Ranboo's own, and the burning embers of his eyes start to dim slightly. "This isn’t goodbye, for my rebirth may be sooner than you think. I love you so much, <em> sidus meum </em>."</p><p> </p><p>The phoenix grips Ranboo's other hand that's not on his cheek and squeezes gently as he brings it up to his quivering lips, pressing a tender kiss to bruised knuckles. Tommy flinches when a cough tears its way from his throat, phlegm and blood mixing together to drip from the corners of his lips. Still, his eyes stay half-lidded and focused on keeping eye contact with Ranboo, purring softly in an attempt to ease the other's worry. The enderman gazes back, stomach fluttering with fear, with hopelessness, with such an intense sense of fury that it makes him feel sick. The bond that holds them together flickers and aches in painful pulses, not quite tearing apart but not settling either. It burns like the fire that Tommy was born in until it doesn't; until it begins to freeze and become so, so cold; until Tommy’s breath stutters, then stops completely.</p><p> </p><p>The flames go out and with them goes Tommy. </p><p> </p><p>"I love you too, <em> boinu </em> ." Shoulders shaking, Ranboo finally allows the words to leave his mouth in a dry sob, head bowed and eyes clenched shut. A part of Ranboo wants to scream until his lungs give out, but another craves the feeling of breaking the bones of the people who've put both him and Tommy through so much bullshit; a primal part that wants to see the world burn. Footsteps sound from behind Ranboo and a gargled snarl is what falls from his lips instead of any words because <em> who dares to interrupt his mourning, who dares step closer? He will kill them, kill them until they can't respawn, kill them </em>-.</p><p> </p><p>The warmth of the person’s aura brushes over Ranboo in soft waves, a recognizable woodsy scent with a dash of gunpowder following soon after. <em> Safe, safe, safe </em>, his mind chants, and his muscles relax ever so slightly when he looks over his shoulder to see Sam in all his glory; a pair of dirty overalls and a hard hat on his head. </p><p> </p><p>“What’s going on here?” Sam snaps, venom staining the older man’s voice as his eyes flick across the group of Essempi members, though they soften when they find Ranboo kneeling a good distance away from the rest. No one answers for a few silent moments, glancing between each other like confused dogs, like they don’t know what they had enabled, like they didn’t just put a kid on the chopping block for something as useless as independence. It’s pathetic, and Ranboo huffs out a bitter laugh, lips pulling up into a sardonic smile. </p><p> </p><p>“They killed him,” His voice breaks. “They killed Tommy.”</p><p> </p><p>"It had to be done, he was dangerous." George says, but multiple people mumble out their dissents; even <em> Technoblade </em>, the one who shot Tommy, shakes his head. George's voice is steady, unwavering with no hint of remorse. It disgusts Ranboo, so he says as much.</p><p> </p><p>"The deal was a one-versus-one fight, not whatever the fuck Dream pulled." Ranboo grounds out, voice thick with malice. He locks eyes with George and the primal side of his enderman genes takes the eye contact as a challenge, a threat. Ranboo feels himself slipping, feels himself becoming more mob than human the longer he stays surrounded by the ones he once dared to call friends. Sam stops him before he can think to teleport in front of the two remaining members of the "Dream Team" and rip them to shreds. The creeper-human hybrid settles both of his hands on Ranboo's shoulders, tugging him so that his back is pressed against Sam's chest. It's a comforting weight that calms the pot of mixed emotion simmering under his skin. Sam tells Ranboo to look away, tells him to breathe and close his eyes while he addresses the remaining Essempi members.</p><p> </p><p>"You killed a child," Sam starts. "Because he was dangerous? Because he's grown up knowing only war, therefore he has no real sense of what peace is like? Tell me, George, why you would rather resort to killing instead of trying to rehabilitate a teenager who is obviously traumatized."</p><p> </p><p>"He's... he's a liability! He set things on fire, stole from multiple people's houses. We have given him so many chances to change, yet he doesn't." George exclaims, arms gesturing wildly. Sam's fingers dig into the meat of Ranboo's shoulder as he continues. "He'll respawn anyway, maybe this'll teach him a lesson."</p><p> </p><p>That's what makes Ranboo break. He rips himself from Sam's grasp and turns sharply to the left, towards the sea. He doesn't look back because he can't. He hears the distinct sound of a creeper's hiss, Sam's voice loud yet oddly calm at the same time telling George that, no, Tommy isn't coming back anytime soon. Then, the creeper hybrid falls into step with Ranboo seamlessly, tugging on his arm. Ranboo goes willingly, of course. Sam (and Puffy) are the only ones he really has left.</p><p> </p><p>"I'm so sorry," Sam whispers when they're far enough away from the dock, pulling Ranboo into a hug. The man lets Ranboo burrow into his body, rubs his back as sobs overcome the trembling teen's body. </p><p> </p><p>"I can't feel him," Ranboo cries, "It hurts so bad, Sam." </p><p> </p><p>"I know, I know. But he's with you, Ranboo. He may be gone physically, but he will always be with you." Sam reassures the enderman hybrid. They stay in each other's embrace for a few more minutes until the tears (mostly) stop. Sam pulls away and starts walking again, leading Ranboo towards the house they share with Puffy. </p><p> </p><p>(It takes awhile for Ranboo to get back into the groove of living. He knows that Tommy will be reborn; he's literally a symbol of resurrection. It doesn't stop the hurt. It doesn't stop the uncomfortable feeling of a frozen bond that sits heavy in Ranboo's chest. </p><p> </p><p>Sam and Puffy are his support group and they help him on the worst days. They understand because they also lost Tommy that day, the boy they cared for like a son. Ranboo slowly tries to build himself up, up, up until he feels ready to leave the forest he moved into a week or so after the death of Tommy. He's not close to that just yet, but celebratory movie nights and picnics with Sam and Puffy after he reaches a short-term goal make the work worth it.</p><p> </p><p>Ranboo knows that he'll be okay, one day.)</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>WHEW BOY!! Thought I was done but added like... an extra 500ish words. First post on here :D I normally write for myself, but I thought "Why not partcipate in a writing event?" Apologies if there are any spellin mistakes, English may be my first language but I also hyperfixate on learning other languages so... my English can be pretty shit. </p><p>twitter: tarantularights</p><p>[TRANS:]<br/><em>Nolite timere</em> - Do not be afraid</p><p><em>Sidus meum</em> - My star</p><p><em>Boinu</em> - literally means "to shine, to arise." Boinu or (or benu) is linked to the phoenix. Many greek legends of the phoenix are thought to be misinterpretations of Egyptian myths of the Benu Bird.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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